Beginners Astrophotography

[Tom_88 (Thomas)]

Hey guys hows it all going?

Im about to embark on the journey of astrophotography. It all seems a little daunting looking at the hundreds of cameras and CCD's on the market and reveiws on each of them etc etc. My question is, which one?

DSLR or CCD? I've done webcam photography and had the image on the laptop screen in live view mode but I seem to take a liking to DLSR because they seem a little more practical in the sense that they can also be used to do terrestrial photography (like thunderstorms and lightning) which is also what i wouldnt mind doing as well as star trails. But how do they go at the scope? is there a steeper learning curve?

Then theres the other end of the scale... the CCD. I was looking at the ATIK 16ic and reading the reviews and it seems like a nice learning CCD.

I have a 10" newt. on a Samson EQ mount and it works a treat at keeping the image in the centre, really smooth tracking. Any ideas, suggestions, tips or stories more than welcome!
Cheers, Tom.

[rcheshire (Rowland)]

Some of the members do astrophotography with Newtonians. You need a way to attach the camera to the focuser so that you can focus the camera. I'm not sure whether dslr or CCD's are being used - maybe afocal through the eyepiece with a standard digital camera. With good tracking you have overcome a big hurdle.

If you have a dslr that should do for now and provide a good platform for practice.

Here is a very useful resource that may assist with your questions - if not no matter it's still very helpful in many other respects. http://www.ayton.id.au/gary/Science/...graphy_DSO.htm

[Tom_88 (Thomas)]

ah ok, no problem! Thanks very much! I'll go with a DSLR for sure

Cheers, Tom.